1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cell-image analyzing apparatus for imaging cells and analyzing characteristic quantities of the cells from captured images.
2) Description of Related Art
Cell analysis is indispensable for elucidation and therapy establishment of various diseases such as cancer. Therefore, a great deal of effort has been put into elucidation of states, kinetics, morphologies, properties etc. of cells upon isolation of cell strains. Also, fluorescent substances and luminescent substances have conventionally been used to facilitate delimitation of cells, particular proteins etc. in elucidation of the cells and the particular proteins.
Fluorescent substances and luminescent substances are easy to handle and thus are very effective means for delimiting cell themselves, particular proteins etc. On the other hand, however, fluorescent substances and luminescent substances sometimes behave as toxicants or stimulants for cells, specifically for living cells, to be a cause of precluding an accurate analysis result.
Therefore, in recent years, it is held to be very important to observe and analyze states, proliferation, morphologies etc. of cells under as natural a condition as possible without stimulating the cells via a fluorescent substance or a luminescent substance.
Conventionally, in a case where cells are observed and analyzed without being stimulated, a microscope such as recited in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 2004-354650 is used.
This microscope of JP Kokai No. 2004-354650 is provided with a light source, an illumination optical system for introducing light from the light source to an object for observation, an aperture arranged at the pupil position of the illumination optical system, and an observation optical system for observing, at a position displaced from the in-focus position, an image of the object illuminated by the light passing through the aperture.
Most of cells are colorless and transparent themselves. Therefore, in a case where cells are imaged via a normal observation technique using no fluorescent substance, even if automatic analysis of the cells from the captured image are attempted using an image analyzing apparatus, individual cells cannot be recognized, to make it difficult to obtain an accurate analysis result. By this reason, in cases where analysis is made without stimulating the cells, analysts would conventionally use a microscope as disclosed in JP Kokai No. 2004-354650, to visually observe states of the cells.